"He does not seek the spotlight. He owes this Ballon d’Or to his professionalism and his humility." Hugo Lloris said that to Foot Mercato after Harry Kane was crowned Ballon d’Or on Monday evening in London, ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal. The former Tottenham captain spent ten years in the same dressing room as Kane, and now at 39 with Hugo Lloris at Bayern München's former club, he framed the award as the product of a player who has grown well beyond the old goals-only label.
Lloris's view of Kane's game
Lloris's point was not just sentimental. Speaking in the same interview, he said Kane has "an incredibly complete range" and added that he can do "short passes, long passes", tackle, drop back to defend and still remain "surely the best player in the box". That lines up with the numbers this season: Kane has 4 goals and 5 assists in 7 Bundesliga appearances, while in the Champions League he has 4 goals and 2 assists in 3 appearances.
Tottenham's role in the story
Kane also thanked his former club, saying: "I want to say thank you to Tottenham Hotspur, as well. I wouldn't be where I am today without Tottenham, for sure." Spurs marked his Ballon d’Or win with a digital mural at the training ground, a reminder that the club still treats him as part of its own story.
The legacy debate around Kane is still there, and the bonus-clause question around his move to Bayern has not been publicly settled in the material at hand. What is not in doubt is that Lloris, who shared a dressing room with him for ten years, sees the Ballon d’Or as the reward for a player who kept adding to his game rather than settling for the scoring record alone.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
